Four Seasons
by macmillanluv
Summary: Four seasons, four beginnings to four love stories. Series of four one-shots.
1. Spring

**A/N:** Written for The Crayola Challenge - **prompt: denim**

_Neville/Hannah_

* * *

**SPRING (596 words)**

One beautiful, spring afternoon, that seemed just as any other, Neville Longbottom stepped out of The Ministry of Magic after another hard day of work, feeling unusually cheerful. His letter of resignation was currently sitting on a desk at Human Resources, waiting to be processed. Soon, he would be out of a job, without the faintest idea of what to do next. And it felt good.

Becoming an Auror had never been his dream. It was only after the war he realised it might be a good fit, and he did enjoy it, at first, being named Employee of the Month after just two months of hard work. The job just wasn't for him. Capturing the remaining Death Eaters had seemed a noble cause but all it seemed to do was remind him of the people lost during the war. He had spent the last six months behind a desk, getting praised for handling all the paperwork. Everyone was eager to catch dark wizards, but only few wanted to make sure appropriate reports and files were drawn up.

Outside, it was warm enough to wear just a denim jacket, only a slight breeze in the air, and Neville had done exactly that, in an attempt to blend in with the Muggle crowd. He didn't live far and always walked to work, quickly noticing that wearing robes on the streets of London gathered plenty of unwanted attention. Today he didn't walk straight home, instead popping into The Leaky Cauldron for a butterbeer to celebrate. He sat down at the bar.

"What can I get you?" He heard a woman ask from behind the bar, and turned to face her. Her blond hair was in a messy ponytail and her face was a shade of pink as she swiftly gathered dirty glasses from the bar. It took Neville some time to put a name to the face.

"Hannah?" he asked. Hannah freezed, and looked at him with widened eyes. Her surprise turned into a smile.

"Neville! Great to see you, sorry I didn't recognise you, I'm so frazzled right now. I only just started working here and already I've been left alone!" Hannah rambled. The pen that was tucked behind her ear fell to the floor.

"I'll have a Butterbeer, please. If it's not too much trouble," Neville said, with a wide smile, as Hannah disappeared behind the bar to look for her pen.

"What's got you so happy?" she asked, popping back up from the floor, noticing his cheerful demeanor. She opened a bottle of Butterbeer and poured it into a glass.

"The weather is nice," he replied and took a sip of his drink. "And I've just quit my job."

"Really? I heard you became an Auror. Didn't you like it?"

"I did, but it's time to move on."

"To what?"

"No idea."

He silently sipped his Butterbeer, occasionally glancing at Hannah. She was leaning on the bar with her elbows, brown eyes reflecting the light from the candles floating above. Even with her messy hair and slightly exhausted expression she looked lovely, Neville thought. He was never really comfortable with girls but today, on this sunny spring afternoon, he felt a sudden rush of confidence.

"You should become a teacher," Hannah said after a minute or two of pondering. "You'd be good at that."

"Really? I don't know about that," Neville said. "But I'd like to take you to dinner someday."

"You would?" Hannah asked, her cheeks blushing.

"I would," Neville replied.

"On one condition."

"Yes?"

"You can't wear that denim jacket anymore. It's hideous."


	2. Summer

**A/N:** Written for The Crayola Challenge - **prompt: peach**

_Percy/Audrey_

* * *

**SUMMER (616 words)**

Percy Weasley didn't enjoy holidays. They were a waste of time, time that could have been better spent revising broom regulations or coming up with new items for the Hogwarts Express checklist, as the bi-annual inspection was coming up. After just two years of running his own department, The Department of Magical Transportation, Percy had tripled the size of the list, as well as doubled the efficiency of the whole department. Last year he skipped his holiday, since the department was a big mess but this year, thanks to the competent workers he had hired, The Ministry felt they could survive a summer without Percy Weasley and he was given a mandatory holiday on the grounds that despite working there for nearly seven years, Percy had never had a proper one, only a few days for Christmas and maybe a week for summer every year.

Now, he had the whole month of July to do whatever he pleased and was forbidden from even trying to set foot inside The Ministry. By week two, he had visited everything worth visiting in London and grown bored of the city. Hoping to do some relaxing, as was supposedly the whole point of a holiday, he went to visit his parents in the country.

"Why don't you go see that new market in town? You could bring back some carrots and potatoes," Molly suggested, after two days of watching her son mope around the house. It was as if he was sixteen again, just waiting to get back to school.

"You have some growing in the garden," Percy argued.

"We've had so many gnomes this year, there's barely anything left. Come on, now, off you go!"

Arguing with his mother was pointless. Percy apparated to the outskirts of town and walked the rest of the way to the market. Scanning the stalls for carrots and potatoes, he spotted a woman behind one of the stalls looking straight at him, smiling, her teeth as white as the dress she was wearing. She waved him over.

Approaching the market stall, Percy noticed the woman was quite beautiful. She was around his age, with long, dark hair, and wearing a wide-brimmed sun hat that cast a shadow on her freckled nose.

"Did you want to try some?" she asked with a smile. Percy nodded, eyeing the massive amounts of peaches around her. She handed him a piece and he chomped it down.

"It's really good," he said.

"I've never seen you before. Do you live around here?" she asked while eyeing him from head to toe.

"Uh, no, just visiting my parents," Percy replied, quickly growing nervous as he realised he was actually talking to an attractive woman and not just some old lady selling produce at the market.

"Maybe I'll see you around, then. I'm Audrey, by the way," she said, flashing him another smile. Percy felt weak at the knees.

"Percy. I'll take two pounds, please," he said. Audrey looked at him slightly amused before packing the peaches into a paper bag and weighing it. He swiftly paid, thanked her and hurried off, peaches in hand, to apparate back home.

"Didn't you get the carrots and potatoes?" his mother asked, peeking into his bag, when he popped up in the kitchen.

"Huh? Sorry, I guess I forgot. I'll go back tomorrow," he replied, realising his chance to see Audrey again, if only he could control his nerves long enough to strike up a conversation.

"You don't have to, dear. I'll get them myself."

"No! I mean, you shouldn't have to. I'll do it."

"You're such a good boy. But what am I supposed to do with all these peaches?"


End file.
